The present invention relates generally to inkjet printers, and more particularly to an inkjet printer including a carriage dam which controls the accumulation of the ink aerosol in the inkjet printer during printer.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a portion of a conventional inkjet printer 90 includes a printer carriage 91 and a plurality of print cartridges 92 installed in the printer carriage. Each print cartridge includes a printhead 93 which ejects or fires ink drops 94 through a plurality of orifices or nozzles 95 and toward a print medium 96, such as a sheet of paper, so as to print a dot of ink on the print medium. Typically, the orifices are arranged in one or more columns or arrays such that properly sequenced ejection of ink from the orifices causes characters or other images to be printed upon the print medium as the print cartridge and the print medium are moved relative to each other. In one arrangement, the print medium is supported by a platen or roller 97 as the print cartridge traverses the print medium to create a band or swath of print on the print medium.
During printing, the ink drops generate a fine mist or fog of relatively small ink particles 98 suspended in air. Unfortunately, these small ink particles, referred to as ink aerosol, can accumulate on components of the inkjet printer and cause functional failures and/or cosmetic defects. The ink aerosol, for example, can cause corrosion of electrical contacts or traces of the print cartridges which, in turn, can lead to failure of the print cartridges. In addition, the ink aerosol can accumulate, for example, on the sides of the print cartridges such that when a user of the inkjet printer attempts to remove one or more of the print cartridges from the printer carriage, the accumulated ink aerosol is transferred onto the hands of the user thereby creating a messy operation.
The ink aerosol can also accumulate on media transport surfaces of the inkjet printer and be transferred to the print medium such that the print medium is marked or marred during printing. For example, when the printer carriage and print cartridges traverse the print medium during printing, the printer carriage may move beyond the edge of the print medium. As such, ink aerosol can accumulate on the platen or roller of the inkjet printer. Thus, when a subsequent sheet of print medium is routed through the inkjet printer, ink aerosol accumulated on the platen or roller may be transferred to the print medium.
Accordingly, a need exists for an inkjet printer which controls the accumulation of ink aerosol, generated during printing, on components of the inkjet printer.
One aspect of the present invention provides a fluid ejection system which includes a plurality of cartridges each including a fluid ejection device, and a carriage adapted to hold the cartridges. The carriage includes a carriage darn including a plurality of openings and a plurality of panels. Each of the openings accommodate one of the cartridges, and each of the panels have a surface oriented substantially parallel with a front bite of the fluid ejection device of the one of the cartridges and at least one substantially straight edge extending substantially completely along a side of the one of the cartridges.